Hempfield, Jeannette, Penn-Trafford honoring late coach T.J Detruf with jersey number, fundraisers, decals

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 | 3:52 PM

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The number 18 — and the man who wore it — will hold significant meaning for three local football programs who are carrying on the memory of T.J. Detruf and providing support for his family.

Hempfield senior quarterback Dom Detruf will switch to jersey No. 18 to honor his late father, who died unexpectedly July 26 at their home at age 41.

T.J. Detruf wore No. 18 when he played quarterback at Jeannette. After his graduation in 2002, he went on to play at Bethany College where he again wore the number. He coached at Jeannette and most recently was a junior varsity coach at Penn-Trafford.

Dom Detruf had been wearing No. 11 but made the change for his final prep season.

“We talked about him wearing 18 and thought it would be a pretty cool idea,” Hempfield coach Nick Keefer said. “He said, ‘Yeah, but my mom already has a senior shirt with 11 on it.’ That’s the kind of kid he is, always thinking of everyone else.”

All three communities are mourning their former friend, teammate and coach.

The Jeannette and Penn-Trafford football teams will honor Detruf by wearing decals on their helmets. Jeannette will wear No. 18 stickers, while Penn-Trafford dons Detruf’s initials, TJD.

As far as Jeannette coach Tom Paulone is concerned, No. 18 should be retired. Paulone and T.J. Detruf are fourth cousins. Paulone also is a former Jayhawks’ quarterback.

“We’re not going to give it out this year or anytime soon,” Paulone said. “That was T.J.’s number. I wore that number in midgets because of him. Maybe it will be like No. 12 with the Steelers. Not officially retired, but nobody wears it.”

Graduate Lonnie Greene was the last Jayhawk to wear No. 18, last season.

Jeannette will honor its fallen alum in a few ways. For instance, the Jeannette Educational Foundation and DeNunzio’s Restaurant will sponsor a tailgate party before each of the Jayhawks’ five home football games this season. The tailgate will be in the parking lot of DeNunzio’s, which is about two blocks from McKee Stadium.

Part of the proceeds will go to the Detruf family.

“The best way to honor him is to emulate what he was all about,” Paulone said. “You think about his story, how he got the quarterback job here. There was an injury and he was the next man up.”

Paulone said he wants to have the number 18 spray-painted onto a hillside beside the bleachers inside McKee Stadium. There are currently blue letters on the hill that spell out “Jayhawks” in pieces of leftover turf from the 2019 install.

“We’d also like to recognize him during the season,” Paulone said, referencing a moment of silence in the first home game and possibly something at the team’s hall of fame game late in the year against Greensburg Central Catholic.

Penn-Trafford has ordered the decals and also will sell T-shirts to raise money for the Detruf family — widow and mother Jennifer, and Dom Detruf — as well as holding a moment of remembrance.

“Losing coach Detruf has been very tough on all of us,” Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane said. “He was a tremendous role model and related to the kids with his coaching style, communication and sense of humor. He was really well liked by all that were fortunate to play for him.”

This is the second consecutive year that Westmoreland County has been touched by heartache involving a football coach.

Last October, Rich Bowen, former coach at Serra Catholic, Yough, Hempfield and Greensburg Salem, among other stops, died of cancer at 60.

Greensburg Salem wore helmet decals to honor Bowen, a former Parade All-American quarterback at Serra Catholic who played tight end at Youngstown State.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Hempfield, Jeannette, Penn-Trafford